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Chuang Tzu
BOOK I
PART I SECTION I
Hsiao-yao Yu, or 'Enjoyment in Untroubled Ease.'
1. In the Northern Ocean there is a fish, the name of which is Khwan,—I do not know how many li in size. It changes into a bird with the name
of Phing, the back of which is (also)—I do not know how many li in extent. When
this bird rouses itself and flies, its wings are like clouds all round the sky. When the
sea is moved (so as to bear it along), it prepares to remove to the Southern Ocean. The
Southern Ocean is the Pool of Heaven.
There is the (book called) Khi Hsieh,—a record of marvels. We have in it these words:—'When the phang
is removing to the Southern Ocean it flaps (its wings) on the water for 3000 li. Then
it ascends on a whirlwind 90,000 li, and it rests only at the end of six months.' (But
similar to this is the movement of the breezes which we call) the horses of the fields,
of the dust (which quivers in the sunbeams), and of living things as they are blown against
one another by the air.
Is its azure the proper colour of the sky? Or is it occasioned by its distance and illimitable
extent? If one were looking down (from above), the very same appearance would just meet
his view.
2. And moreover, (to speak of) the accumulation of water;—if it be not great, it
will not have strength to support a large boat. Upset a cup of water in a cavity, and
a straw will float on it as if it were a boat. Place a cup in it, and it will stick fast;—the
water is shallow and the boat is large. (So it is with) the accumulation of wind; if it
be not great, it will not have strength to support great wings. Therefore (the phang ascended
to) the height of 90,000 li, and there was such a mass of wind beneath it; thenceforth
the accumulation of wind was sufficient. As it seemed to bear the blue sky on its back,
and there was nothing to obstruct or arrest its course, it could pursue its way to the
South.
A cicada and a little dove laughed at it, saying, 'We make an effort and fly towards an
elm or sapan-wood tree; and sometimes before we reach it, we can do no more but drop to
the ground. Of what use is it for this (creature) to rise 90,000 li, and make for the
South?' He who goes to the grassy suburbs , returning to the third meal (of the day), will have his belly as full as when
he set out; he who goes to a distance of 100 li will have to pound his grain where he
stops for the night; he who goes a thousand li, will have to carry with him provisions
for three months. What should these two small creatures know about the matter? The knowledge
of that which is small does not reach to that which is great; (the experience of) a few
years does not reach to that of many. How do we know that it is so? The mushroom of a
morning does not know (what takes place between) the beginning and end of a month; the
short-lived cicada does not know (what takes place between) the spring and autumn. These
are instances of a short term of life. In the south of Khu, there is the (tree) called Ming-ling, whose spring is 500 years, and its autumn the same; in high antiquity there
was that called Ta-khu,
whose spring was 8000 years, and its autumn the same. And Phang
Zu is the one man renowned
to the present day for his length of life:—if all men were (to wish) to match him,
would they not be miserable?
3. In the questions put by Thang
to Ki we have similar statements:—'In the bare and barren north there is the dark
and vast ocean,—the Pool of Heaven. In it there is a fish, several thousand li in
breadth, while no one knows its length. Its name is the khwan. There is (also) a bird
named the phang; its back is like the Thai mountain, while its wings are like clouds all
round the sky. On a whirlwind it mounts upwards as on the whorls of a goat's horn for
90,000 li, till, far removed from the cloudy vapours, it bears on its back the blue sky,
and then it shapes its course for the South, and proceeds to the ocean there.' A quail
by the side of a marsh laughed at it, and said, 'Where is it going to? I spring up with
a bound, and come down again when I have reached but a few fathoms, and then fly about
among the brushwood and bushes; and this is the perfection of
flying. Where is that creature going to?' This shows the difference between the small
and the great.
Thus it is that men, whose wisdom is sufficient for the duties of some one office, or
whose conduct will secure harmony in some one district, or whose virtue is befitting a
ruler so that they could efficiently govern some one state, are sure to look on themselves
in this manner (like the quail), and yet Yung Tzu
of Sung would have smiled
and laughed at them. (This Yung Tzu), though the whole world should have praised him,
would not for that have stimulated himself to greater endeavour, and though the whole
world should have condemned him, would not have exercised any more repression of his course;
so fixed was he in the difference between the internal (judgment of himself) and the external
(judgment of others), so distinctly had he marked out the bounding limit of glory and
disgrace. Here, however, he stopped. His place in the world indeed had become indifferent
to him, but still he had not planted himself firmly (in the right position).
There was Lieh Tzu, who
rode on the wind and pursued his way, with an admirable indifference (to
all external things), returning, however, after fifteen days, (to his place). In regard
to the things that (are supposed to) contribute to happiness, he was free from all endeavours
to obtain them; but though he had not to walk, there was still something for which he
had to wait. But suppose one who mounts on (the ether of) heaven and earth in its normal
operation, and drives along the six elemental energies of the changing (seasons), thus
enjoying himself in the illimitable,—what has he to wait for'? Therefore it is said,
'The Perfect man has no (thought of) self; the Spirit-like man, none of merit; the Sagely-minded
man, none of fame.'
4. Yao, proposing to
resign the throne to Hsu Yu,
said, 'When the sun and moon have come forth, if the torches have not been put out, would
it not be difficult for them to give light? When the seasonal rains are coming down, if
we still keep watering the ground, will not our toil be labour lost for all the good it
will do? Do you, Master, stand forth (as sovereign), and the kingdom will (at once) be
well governed. If I still (continue to) preside over it, I must look on myself as vainly
occupying the place;—I beg to resign the throne to you.' Hsu
Yu said, 'You, Sir, govern the kingdom, and the kingdom is well governed. If I in these
circumstances take your place, shall I not be doing so for the sake of the name? But the
name is but the guest of the reality;—shall I be playing the part of the guest?
The tailor-bird makes its nest in the deep forest, but only uses a single branch; the
mole drinks from the
Ho, but only takes what fills its belly. Return and rest in being ruler,—I will
have nothing to do with the throne. Though the cook were not attending to his kitchen,
the representative of the dead and the officer of prayer would not leave their cups and
stands to take his place.'
5. Kien Wu asked Lien
Shu, saying, 'I heard Khieh-yu
talking words which were great, but had nothing corresponding to them (in reality);—once
gone, they could not be brought back. I was frightened by them;—they were like the
Milky Way which cannot
be traced to its beginning or end. They had no connexion with one another, and were not
akin to the experiences of men.' 'What were his words?' asked Lien Shift, and the other
replied, (He said) that 'Far away on the hill of Ku-shih
there dwelt a Spirit-like man whose flesh and skin were (smooth)
as ice and (white) as snow; that his manner was elegant and delicate as that of a virgin;
that he did not eat any of the five grains, but inhaled the wind and drank the dew; that
he mounted on the clouds, drove along the flying dragons, rambling and enjoying himself
beyond the four seas; that by the concentration of his spirit-like powers he could save
men from disease and pestilence, and secure every year a plentiful harvest.' These words
appeared to me wild and incoherent and I did not believe them. 'So it is,' said Lien Shu.
'The blind have no perception of the beauty of elegant figures, nor the deaf of the sound
of bells and drums. But is it only the bodily senses of which deafness and blindness can
be predicated? There is also a similar defect in the intelligence; and of this your words
supply an illustration in yourself. That man, with those attributes, though all things
were one mass of confusion, and he heard in that condition the whole world crying out
to him to be rectified, would not have to address himself laboriously to the task, as
if it were his business to rectify the world. Nothing could hurt that man; the greatest
floods, reaching to the sky, could not drown him, nor would he feel the fervour of the
greatest heats melting metals and stones till they flowed, and scorching all the ground
and hills. From the dust and chaff of himself, he could still mould and fashion Yaos and
Shuns;how should he be
willing to occupy himself with things?'
6. A man of Sung, who dealt in the ceremonial caps (of Yin),
went with them to Yueh,
the people of which cut off their hair and tattooed their bodies, so that they had no
use for them. Yao ruled the people of the kingdom, and maintained a perfect government
within the four seas. Having gone to see the four (Perfect) Ones
on the distant hill of Ku-shih, when (he returned to his capital) on the south of the
Fan water, his throne
appeared no more to his deep-sunk oblivious eyes.
7. Hui Tzu told Chuang
Tzu, saying, 'The king of Wei
sent me some seeds of a large calabash, which I sowed. The fruit, when fully grown, could
contain five piculs (of anything). I used it to contain water, but
it was so heavy that I could not lift it by myself. I cut it in two to make the parts
into drinking vessels; but the dried shells were too wide and unstable and would not hold
(the liquor); nothing but large useless things! Because of their uselessness I knocked
them to pieces.' Chuang Tzu replied, 'You were indeed stupid, my master, in the use of
what was large. There was a man of Sung who was skilful at making a salve which kept the
hands from getting chapped; and (his family) for generations had made the bleaching of
cocoon-silk their business. A stranger heard of it, and proposed to buy the art of the
preparation for a hundred ounces of silver. The kindred all came together, and considered
the proposal. "We have," said they, "been bleaching cocoon-silk for generations, and have
only gained a little money. Now in one morning we can sell to this man our art for a hundred
ounces;—let him have it." The stranger accordingly got it and went away with it
to give counsel to the king of Wu,
who was then engaged in hostilities with Yueh. The king gave him the command of his fleet,
and in the winter he had an engagement with that of Yueh, on which he inflicted a great
defeat, and was invested
with a portion of territory taken from Yueh. The keeping the hands from getting chapped
was the same in both cases; but in the one case it led to the investiture (of the possessor
of the salve), and in the other it had only enabled its owners
to continue their bleaching. The difference of result was owing to the different use made
of the art. Now you, Sir, had calabashes large enough to hold five piculs;—why did
you not think of making large bottle-gourds of them, by means of which you could have
floated over rivers and lakes, instead of giving yourself the sorrow of finding that they
were useless for holding anything. Your mind, my master, would seem to have been closed
against all intelligence!'
Hui Tzu said to Chuang Tzu, 'I have a large tree, which men call the Ailantus.
Its trunk swells out to a large size, but is not fit for a carpenter to apply his line
to it; its smaller branches are knotted and crooked, so that the disk and square cannot
be used on them. Though planted on the wayside, a builder would not turn his head to look
at it. Now your words, Sir, are great, but of no use;—all unite in putting them
away from them.' Chuang Tzu replied, 'Have you never seen a wildcat or a weasel? There
it lies, crouching and low, till the wanderer approaches; east and west it leaps about,
avoiding neither what is high nor what is low, till it is caught in a trap, or dies in
a net. Again there is the Yak,
so large that it is like a cloud hanging in the sky. It is large indeed, but it cannot
catch mice. You, Sir, have a large tree and are troubled because it is of no use;—why
do you not plant it in a tract where there is nothing else, or in a wide and barren wild?
There you might saunter idly by its side, or in the enjoyment
of untroubled case sleep beneath it. Neither bill nor axe would shorten its existence;
there would be nothing to injure it. What is there in its uselessness to cause you distress?'
1 See notice on pp.
127, 128, on the Title and Subject-matter of the Book.
2 The khwan and the
phang are both fabulous creatures, far transcending in size the dimensions ascribed by
the wildest fancy of the West to the kraken and the roc. Chuang Tzu represents them as
so huge by way of contrast to the small creatures which he is intending to introduce;—to
show that size has nothing to do with the Tao, and the perfect enjoyment which the possession
of it affords. The passage is a good specimen of the Yu Yen (###) metaphorical or parabolical
narratives or stories, which are the chief characteristic of our author's writings; but
the reader must keep in mind that the idea or lesson in its 'lodging' is generally of
a Taoistic nature.
3 There may have been
a book with this title, to which Chuang Tzu appeals, as if feeling that what he had said
needed to be substantiated.
4 This seems to be
interjected as an afterthought, suggesting to the reader that the phang, soaring along
at such a height, was only an exaggerated form of the common phenomena with which he was
familiar.
5 In Chinese, Mang
Zhan; but this is not the name of any particular place. The phrase denotes the grassy
suburbs (from their green colour), not far from any city or town.
6 The great state
of the South, having its capital Ying in the present Hu-pei, and afterwards the chief
competitor with Khin for the sovereignty of the kingdom.
7 Taken by some as
the name of a tortoise.
8 This and the Ming-ling
tree, as well as the mushroom mentioned above, together with the khwan and phang, are
all mentioned in the fifth Book of the writings of Lieh Tzu, referred to in the next paragraph.
9 Or 'the patriarch
Phang.' Confucius compared himself to him (Analects, VII, i);—'our old Phang;' and
Ku Hsi thinks he was a worthy officer of the Shang dynasty. Whoever he was, the legends
about him are a mass of Taoistic fables. At the end of the Shang dynasty (B. C. 1123)
he was more than 767 years old, and still in unabated vigour. We read of his losing 49
wives and 54 sons; and that he still left two sons, Wu and I, who died in Fu-kien, and
gave their names to the Wu-i, or Bu-i hills, from which we get our Bohea tea! See Mayers'
'Chinese Reader's Manual,' p. 175.
10 The founder of
the Shang dynasty (B.C. 1766-1754). In Lieh Tzu his interlocutor is called Hsia Ko, and
Dze-ki.
11 We can hardly tell
who this Yung Tzu was. Sung was a duchy, comprehending portions of the present provinces
of Ho-nan, An-hui, and Kiang-su.
12 See note on the
title of Book XXXII. Whether there ever was a personage called Lieh Tzu or Lieh Yu-khau,
and what is the real character of the writings that go under his name, are questions that
cannot be more than thus alluded to in a note. He is often introduced by Chuang Tzu, and
many narratives are common to their books. Here he comes before us, not as a thinker and
writer, but as a semi-supernatural being, who has only not yet attained to the highest
consummations of the Tao.
13 The description
of a master of the Tao, exalted by it, unless the predicates about him be nothing but
the ravings of a wild extravagance, above mere mortal man. In the conclusion, however,
he is presented under three different phrases, which the reader will do well to keep in
mind.
14 The great sovereign
with whom the documents of the Shu King commence:—B. C. 2357-2257.
15 A counsellor of
Yao, who is once mentioned by Sze-ma Khien in his account of Po-i,—in the first
Book of his Biographies (###). Hsu Yu is here the instance of 'the Sagely man,' with whom
the desire of a name or fame has no influence.
16 Some say the tapir.
17 Known to us only
through Chuang Tzu.
18 'The madman of
Khu' of the Analects, XVIII, 5, who eschews intercourse with Confucius. See Hwang-fu Mi's
account of him, under the surname and name of Lu Thung, in his Notices of Eminent Taoists,
1, 25.
19 Literally, 'the
Ho and the Han;' but the name of those rivers combined was used to denote 'the Milky Way.'
20 See the Khang-hsi
Thesaurus under the character ###. All which is said about the hill is that it was 'in
the North Sea.'
21 Shun was the successor
of Yao, in the ancient kingdom.
22 All this description
is to give us an idea of the 'Spirit-like man.' We have in it the results of the Tao in
its fullest embodiment.
23 See the Li Ki,
IX, iii, 3.
24 A state, part of
the present province of Kieh-kiang.
25 Said to have been
Hsu Yu mentioned above, with Nieh Khueh, Wang I, and Phi-i, who will by and by come before
us.
26 A river in Shan-hsi,
on which was the capital of Yao;—a tributary of the Ho.
27 This paragraph
is intended to give us an idea of 'the Perfect man,' who has no thought of himself. The
description, however, is brief and tame, compared with the accounts of Hsu Yu and of the
Spirit-like man.'
28 Or Hui Shih, the
chief minister of 'king Hui of Liang (or Wei), (B. C. 370-333),' with an interview between
whom and Mencius the works of that philosopher commence. He was a friend of Chuang Tzu,
and an eccentric thinker; and in Book XXXIII there is a long account of several of his
views. I do not think that the conversations about 'the great calabash' and 'the great
tree' really took place; Kwan Tzu probably invented them, to illustrate his point that
size had nothing to do with the Tao, and that things which seemed useless were not really
so when rightly used.
29 Called also Liang
from the name of its capital. Wei was one of the three states (subsequently kingdoms),
into which the great fief of Zin was divided about B. C. 400.]
30 A great and ancient
state on the sea-board, north of Yueh. The name remains in the district of Wu-kiang in
the prefecture of Su-kau.
31 The salve gave
the troops of Wu a great advantage in a war on the Kiang, especially in winter.
32 The Ailantus glandulosa,
common in the north of China, called 'the fetid tree,' from the odour of its leaves.
33 The bos grunniens
of Thibet, the long tail of which is in great demand for making standards and chowries.
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